Passenger operated roundabout



Dec. 21, 1948. R. E. RESTALL PASSENGER OPERATED ROUNDABOUT 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 18, 1946 Robert E. Resfall and Dec. 21, 1948. R. E. IVQESTALL 2,456,648

PASSENGER OPERATED ROUNDABOUT Filed Nov. 18, 1946 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 3.

Iuz'entor R. E. RESTALL 2,456,648

PASSENGER OPERATED ROUNDABOUT I 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig. 6.

Fig. 9.

Inventor Robert E. Restall w m M um R m z m \.H

J A 1 P 7/ a w 4 w m d 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 i v I Inventor Robert E. Restall w m W Attorneys Dec. 21, 1948. R. E. RESTALL PASSENGER OPERATED ROUNDABOUT 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 18, 1946 lure/nor Robert E. Resfall Patented Dec. 21, 1948 UNITED PATENT o rrlcs 'FPASSEN'G'ER OPERATED IROUNDABOUK RobertERestall, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Application November 18, 1946,'-Serial-No. 710,709 e Claims. (Cl. 212-36) The present invention relateslto: novel and useful improvements iniaipa n er roundabo t. n more specifically. pertains to anamusement. device constituting a. powerioperated rideand ,of thextype wherein .avariable motion-may be; imparted to' the passenger vehicle atithecwill: and under the: control of-the passengers.

.The primary objectrofthisinventioniisrtdprovide an amusement ride devicewhereimapassem gen operated vehicle ispcaused to :travel about; and upon an undulating-xtrackuand :wherein a variety of motions are imparted-to lthe -.veh-iele.

An importantpurpose of the invention resides in providing an :amusementdevice in accordance withthe {foregoing :object, -:wherein :the :passem ger may be caused to travel in :a circular path of=an undulated character, and :vvhereloya rocks ing motionmayrbe imparted toathe vehicleunder the-control ofthepassengers:thereof.

Another important object of; the invention is.-;to provide/an appanatustinwoonformity with the preceding objects wherein the passenger operated controls are rendered inoperative when the device isinot in-motion.

rStill another object of the invention is to provideranr-amusement deviee in conformity with the foregoing objects .wherein 'the' rotary motion of rthe apparatus mayi-berempyed to develop ay-sourcei of powerifor the; effective selective individualmotions of the-vehioles in accordance: with theidesiresof the passengers therein.

Xet anotherimportant. object of the. invention resides inthe; provision of a simplified but efficient cont o 2 11 311 WhCXQbY' the passe ers o a vehicleimay ntrol the operation thereof during therotary; progressrofrthe vehicle.

vAlida final object-of the -inventiongto be spee fiqa lv um rated her inrresi e nith d si n andzpro sion thanapparatus-which :shalltbe of s m ified ar cl:s wi yons ructien; p rtable; relati elv inelmensiv t ma u acture,readily-assem bl d. o isasrtm .ed nd o erat d, and w ch will co r u to he enjo men :of the e s b afford ngia wide fieldior he: xem seioopersonal preference and s i n var n and controllin the motions of th pass o rj ccu ed vehi les.

.:he.se, toget e th v ou a cillar obiects otthelinventlon whichiw l :l-ai rbe ome appare t a vthe. f ll w ng des i tionr oteeds, are rea ed his: nvent on, neemb d ment of hi h been-i ustr te 1e ing the general arrangement, of'passenger scars and supp rting-m ans;

Figure 2 is-a transverse verticalsectionalview throu h iFigure .21;

Figure 35isa side elevational view, partsrheing brokenawaytoshowlnore clearly the construction thereof, of-one.of: the passengercars and a portion of; the supporting means therefor;

Figure 4 is atop plan view, parts being broken away to rs-howwthe interior construction thereof, of the portion, ofthe apparatus shown inFigure 3;

'Figurey5 is a perspectivetview of-a: portion of the power producing; and soar supporting rollers of the invention.

Figure 6 is-a front elevationalview of one-of the passenger cars, illustrating the passenger: enclosing cover or hood of the vehicle in bot/hits open and closed position;

EFigure 7 is afragmentaryl'detail view in horizontal; section illustratingrthe construction of the car supporting and. driving means in accordance with the invention;

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view through one of the passenger operated power clutches within the cars;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary. detail in perspective illustratingqa' portion. of the platform supporting rail and ibracingiof :t-he'device;

;F igure l0 is lat-fragmentary detail view inherizontal plan, parts being broken away to show-the interior construction, of a portion of-the driving mechanism and supporting means of thepassenger cars;

:Figure 11 is va perspective view'ofo-ne'of-the passenger operated control means of'one'ofthe cars; and

Figure l2 is a viewsimilartoFigure 11 butof the: passenger operated control meansof an adj acent-car.

Referring now more --specifica=lly to Figures 1 and :2, the roundabout forming the subject of thisinvention is shown as including an annular raisedzplatform [.0 having the customary approach steps l2 and being of a vertically undulating contounasin'dicatedat Figure '2. Centrally and axially of :the circular platform* I 0, are provided upper and lower bearings or: supports M suitably connected byibraces 16 with the inner circumference. of the :platform 10, and vertically supporting and journaling therein a central axle shaft 18- v f-Suitablyattached to the upper end of 'the vertical axle :shaft 18 is an 'annular head plate "20 to which :are suitably hinged as at 22 I a plurality of -.-radially extending arms '24 constituting "the supporting means of the passenger cars indicated generally at 26. An undulating track annular runway 28 is disclosed upon the inner periphery of the platform ID for a purpose to be later set forth.

Attention is next directed to Figures 4, 5 and 7 for a better understanding of the car supporting and rotating mechanism. A wheel cage, consisting of a pair of plates 32 and 34 has journaled therein an axle 36 supported as byball bearing assemblies 38 upon the plates, and has an annular flange 40 integrally formed therewith upon which is supported a wheel 42 of any suitable construction and adapted to ride upon the undulating annular track 28. The plate 32 is securely carried by the outer end of the arm 24 and is rigidly supported thereon by suitable reinforcing members 44. It will be understood that a similar cage is provided for each of the radially arranged arms 24.

Attached to each cage at theouter side of the plate 34 thereof, is a tubular supportin housing 46 which is coaxial with the corresponding arm 24, and which has secured thereto, at its outer extremity, a gear housin 48, it being understood that one such gear housingis provided for each arm 24 with its aligned tubular extension 46.

A driving shaft 50 is housed Within each of the tubular extensions 46, and is journaled therein as by a bearing assembly 52 at the outerend of the housing 46,- while the opposite end of the drive shaft is splined as at 54 within an axial bore 56 of the axle member 36,. The outer extremity of the drive shaft 50 extends within the gear housing 48 and is provided with a bevel gear 58 adapted to mesh with a crown gear 60 secured upon a lay shaft 62 journaled within the housing 48 as by bearings 64. The opposite extremities of the lay shaft 62 extend without the housing 48 and are connected as by universal joint couplings 66 with a pair of oppositely extending power takeoff shafts 68 each journaled as at In within a supporting housing 12 extending intoeach end of each of the passenger cars 26.

From the foregoing, it will be readily seen that each of the passenger cars 26 is supported by means of their opposite extremities from the housing 12 and power take-off shaft 68 from the universal joint 66 connected to the adjacent gear casings 48 at the outer extremities of adjacent supporting arms 24. I

As will be readily understood; when the head 20 and attached supporting arms 24 are rotated by a means to be subsequently set forth, the suspended cars 26 are likewise rotated in an undulating manner upon the circular track .28 by means of the supporting wheels 42. During this rotation, the supporting wheels 42 cause the rotation of the supporting axles 36, and by means of the driving shaft 56, gearin 58 and 68, lay shaft 62 and power take-off shaft 68 cause the selec-' tive rotation of the passenger cars under the control of the passengers thereof in a manner to be subsequently set forth.

At this point, attention is directed to Figure 10, wherein it will be seen that adjacent supporting i means of suitable reinforcements 14.

Attention is now directed to Figures 3, 4, 7 and 8 for a better understanding of the control means for rotating the cars at the will of the passengers.

Rigidly attached to the inner end of each of the power take-off shafts as, is a clutch drum 56 while a clutch shoesupporting plate 18 is supported in juxtaposition to said drum upon suitable transverse partitions within the cars 26. As seen in I Figure l, these transverse partitions 88 are disposed at the front and rear ends of the car and are rigidly attached to the framework thereof. A

arms with their tubular extensions 46, of the conventional type of expanding clutch brake shoe 82 is pivotally mounted upon the'supporting plate 18 as by'means of an anchor or fulcrum pinv 8.4,- while the expanding ends of the brake'shoe are operated by means of a cam 86. disposedupon astub shaft 88 journaled in the supporting plate [8 and operated by a clutch lever 90,

It will now be seen that during .the entire time the cars are rotating about the annular track, the power shafts 68 are rotated thus providing each car withoppositely rotating power take-off shafts at the opposite extremities thereof. By proper selective manipulation'of'the clutch'levers 90 at the forward and rearward ends of the cars, it will be seen that the .carmaybe selectively secured to either of the power take-ofi shafts-68 for rotation therewith by means of the looking or braking engagement between the brake druin 16, the brake shoes .82 which are securedwupon' the plate 18, thereby locking the%tubula'r:housing 12, the brake plate 18 and the partitions with the attached cars.26, against rotation relative to the driving shafts 68. 1

It is desirable that a similar control meansbe provided in each car for selective icontrol ofthe clutch levers whereby the control meansmay beoperated in the same direction in each car to produce the same .motions throughout the various cars. For this purpose, the clutch lever actuating means indicated in Figures ill and 12 is provided. As shown in Figure. 3; and Figures 11 and 12, a, suitable control wheel 92:. is rigidly secured upon a control shaft 94 while the'clutch control cable '98 is wound about a'spiral groove 96 upon the control shaft and by means of suitable means I88 has its extremitiesattachedto the operating levers 90:03: the forward and rearward clutch assemblies above mentioned: 'The construction in Figure 3 'is provided with a clutch lever operating means disclosed'indetail in Figure 12. In both of the adjacent cars to the cars shown in Figure 3, however, it will be understood-that the forward and rearward powerf'take-offshafts are operating in a reverse direction to those of the car shown in Figure 3, by reason-of th'e'alternately reverse gearing arrangements shown in detail in Figure 10. Consequently, if thesame control means shown in Figure '12 were applied to all of the cars, the same clockwise movement ap-' plied to the control wheel 92-would result-in-the adjacent cars moving in'opposite directions. To

avoid this disadvantageous characteristic, alter assesses haft -19.4. ita -cause a; reversed .,cperati9n org-the sl hle er i w l eb sseentha ks te ienof, .h p rt on-bf; the able .9. Eismteil i vh l 'n y out ne-.120 di nes c he eab re- .Thae h eqn re lerer andxeeb e areso.co necte t 01cc tion vof-;tl ie wheel; flzlwiththe: cable arra shownn Figure ,2 w l -.resu ia tetatiene f the ca Z5;1. :ne i SL iPsDQ counter-clockwise rotation ;of they rel-levers result in a reverse actuation of thecon 8 .1 m casequentlypna s ea tconnte ee eekw r tatia i tnecar ;abou -their:suppe A li le nstr ,e e of e mayb em PIKQWQKWJFMIL t eni p ses :of t :inventio.

tbcesh; preferre f r ,-wi l I hav .a em

o ,,e canopy or hood. I02 pivoted to the side of the can-as ate t l mt m ed wit a anua ocking; means I06 disposed upon the -outsidet-ofthe. car Wherebytthe. car may be opened,.or.close,d only ram ;the outs de unde he. .c0 r 1:-0f t opeiiatorof the device.

Attention is, next directed to the details of construe i .show i i ure-9. wh r i t--w1i:11 be seen-that the platform i0. is supported upon suit-. abl stand r H18. these sta d d -having adjustablefoot portions 1 l0 which telescope within the hollow. interior. of thestandards .andmay-be adjustably secured therein as by means, of,-p ins or the,likeinserted in-aligned spaced apertures H2 in these telescoping members. Upon the outer standards, suitable guy wires H4 may be provided for anchoring bymeans of eye bolts 1 IS the platform 10 to permit-quickly engageable and disengageable rigid supporting means therefor.

From the'foregoing, it will be seen that each of the cars may be rocked in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction about its longitudinal axis under the control and at the will of the passengers thereof during the rotation of said cars about their annular trackgandithfit thepassenger operated control means may be energized only while the cars are inmotion. It will also be noted that each ofthe cars is supported at its extremities upon a pair of oppositely rotating power take-off shafts each of which is driven by power drive shafts all rotating in the same direction and powered by the motion of the roundabout. By

means of the oppositely rotating shafts in each car, it will be observed that a clutch means associated with each may be selectively operated by the passengers, one clutch being released while the other is engaged in alternative operation, to selectively cause the rotation of the car in predetermined direction. Finally, since it will be noted that adjacent cars have their forward power take-off supporting shafts rotating in opposite directions, it will be noted that a specialized control has been provided whereby the same operation of the control lever will result in the same motion of adjacent cars even though their power providing means rotates in different directions.

Although the principles of the invention may be effected by providing any suitable operating means for causing the rotation of the axial central shaft l, a preferred form of actuating means is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. A suitable prime mover, such as internal combustion engine H8, may be positioned beneath a portion of the platform l0 and by means of suitable gearing cause the rotation of a driving pulley I20. Disposed adjacent the driving pulley E28 is an idler pulley I22 yieldably urged away from the driving pulley by a spring means, not shown, for the purpose of taking up slack in the driving cable I24 which is aged f lugs ef c s the rot of the sh t. 20; h attachedsuanortins a ms-' b .I 'c ionah ns semen zbe ween. th I A ..nd the dr in bl filifits 1 126-. il will; be readilvnnders ood 1t t-:.va. .';iousra ta-chments for. the; purpose of gf he -;0 :Q. ina .ts o 1 th cars. may be with-thi inven ion. and thatif d s re ny t able] rotation-lim tin m ans m be prev d for preventing the complete rotation. of the: carstzfi, about their longitudinal axeslnndertheaimpulse impartedby. the: clutches at: the .control ot the operator.

since various; modificationsv willv readily-occur tothose skilled in; the art, the invention-fie not-to be limited to. the exact construction 1- ShOWIlr and described. bu all suitable modific tions and.

senger operated means for cont. tion of said cars. I

.23. 'Ilheccmbi atiQn of claim .-.1 :wh rein said arms:ar :provided ith tubul r:axial-extensions, ear casin Ont-he end rof saidrext nsionsalay s-haftseextending laterally of said .a ear casin earin conn cting said supportin ziwheels with saidzla sshafts power ak -Qfirshaft connected t i he tr mitiesofsaid lay;shafts;;mean or mountin said pass n ars upon :adiacent power take-01f shafts, and means for selectively causing rotation of said cars by one of said adjacent power take-ofi shafts.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said arms are provided with tubular axial extensions, gear casings on the ends of said extensions, lay shafts extending laterally of said gear casings, gearing connecting said supporting wheels with said lay shafts, power take-off shafts connected to the extremities of said lay shafts, means for mounting said passenger cars upon adjacent power take-off shafts, and means for selectively causing rotation of said cars by one of said adjacent power take-off shafts, said gearing being arranged to produce opposite rotation of adjacent lay shafts.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said arms are provided with tubular axial extensions, gear casings on the ends of said extensions, lay shafts extending laterally of said gear casings, gearing connecting said supporting Wheels with said lay shafts, power take-off shafts connected to the extremities of said lay shafts, means for mounting said passenger cars upon adjacent power take-off shafts, and means for selectively causing rotation of said cars by one of said adjacent power take-off shafts, said gearing being arranged to produce opposite rotation of adjacent lay shafts. and clutch means in each car for coupling said car to each of said lay shafts supporting said car.

to the extremities of said lay shafts, means for mounting said passenger cars upon adjacent I power take-off shafts, and means for selectively causing rotation of said cars by one of said adja cent power take-01f shafts, said gearing being arranged to produce opposite rotation of adjacent lay shafts, and clutch means in each car for coupling said car to each of said lay shafts supporting said car, and attaching means connected with each of said clutch means for alternate operation thereof from a common control.

6. The combination of claim 1 wherein said arms are provided with tubular axial extensions,

gear casings on the ends of said extensions, lay

shafts extending laterally of said gear casings, gearing connecting said supporting wheels with said lay shafts, power take-off shafts connected to the extremities of said lay shafts, means for mounting said passenger cars upon adjcent power take-off shafts, and means for selectively causing rotation of said cars by one of said adjacent power take-off shafts, said gearing being arranged to produce opposite rotation of adjacent lay shafts, and clutch means in each car for coupling said car to each of said lay shafts supporting said car, and attaching means connected with each of said'clutch means for alternate operation thereof from a common control, said actuating means including a shaft, a cable wound upon said shaft, the ends of said cable being secured to the actuat' ing levers of said clutch means.

7. The combination of claim 1 wherein said arms are provided with tubular axial extensions, gear casings on the ends of said extensions, lay shafts extending laterally of said gear casings, gearing connecting said supporting wheels with said lay shafts, power take-off shafts connected to the extremities of said lay shafts, means for mounting said passenger cars upon adjacent pow- '8 er take-off shafts, and means for selectivelycausing rotation of said cars by one of said adjacent power take-off shafts, said gearing being arranged to produce opposite rotation of adjacent lay shafts, said gearing including a drive shaft journaled in said tubular extension andconnected'to said supporting wheel, a first gear on said drive in saidgear case, a'second gear on said lay shaft' in said gear case and meshing with said firstgear, the second gears in adjacent gear cases engaging said first gears on opposite sides thereof for reverse rotation. I

'8. Inan amusement device, a passenger car, means mounting said car at its forward and rear ends, said mounting means comprising oppositely rotating'shafts, a clutch means in said car for frictionally securing said car selectively to each of said shafts, and passenger operated control means in said car for selectively actuating said clutch means in alternate relation. I

9. In an amusement device, a passenger car, means mounting said car at its forward and rear ends, said mounting means comprising oppositely rotating shafts, a clutch means in said'car for frictionally securing said car selectively to each of said shafts, and passenger operated control means in said car for selectively actuating said clutch means in alternate relation, said'oppositely rotating shafts being operable by, forward motion of said car.

ROBERT E. RESTALL.

file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name I Date l 678,670 Kling July 16, 1901 2,423,233 Austin July 1, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS I Number Country Date Germany Oct. 21', 1928 

